Jimmy Thelin hopes the Scottish Cup tie with Dunfermline can be the turning point and will see Aberdeen finally break this current losing cycle.

The Dons haven’t won in 14 games in the Premiership but they will be looking to continue their cup adventure when the Pars travel to Pittodrie on Sunday. Thelin’s side are out of form and since November their only win came in the last round of the Scottish Cup at Elgin City.

The Swede dug some of his players out for hiding at Hibs last week and he expects an immediate response. He said: "The discussions we had this week and the clear message is that there can't be any misunderstanding. Sometimes when you're on a specific run it can be difficult to get out of this, but I think the energy was here now from Tuesday, yesterday and today. It's really strong and everybody is looking forward to it.

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“We're still in the cup, we have an important game now in the weekend and we still can catch the third place. That should be our focus and give us this opportunity, take this opportunity and push for that instead of looking back now and going around the mistakes. That's what we have to do now to catch that third place.

“That's why I like when you're in a difficult time, it's time to move on and break the circle. That's what we're trying to focus on now.

“There's no trophy for third place, but there is for the Scottish Cup showpiece final, the biggest game of the season here in Scotland at the end of the year.”

Thelin has held clear the air talks with his players and expects a response from everyone. He explained: “I also belong to the group. I'm the manager and my staff are the players. It's not about them or me.

“We have an identity, what we want to show to our supporters and ourselves, what we want to stand for. I’m an optimistic person and I still think we can catch the third place in the table but there has to be a turning point right now. The energy the players got back on Tuesday was really top and the training has been really good this week.”

Aberdeen have been active in his window. He signed Oday Dabbagh and Mats Knoetser on deadline day to take his summer signing for the month to six. Aberdeen are still waiting for Dabbagh to get clearance but Knoeser could make his debut against the Pars.

He claimed: “I think it was a good window for us. Everybody was working really hard to find the best solution for the squad for the short term but also for the long term.

“We're trying to rebuild a little bit for the future also, but also add quality for the short term objectives that we have right now and the form we were in in the league that we have to improve some parts. It creates a stronger competition inside the squad so we can get one or two levels up in intensity and how we compete on the pitch with ourselves but also with inside the team to be playing but also against opponents.”